This year's class was smaller than usual, but we had some great chemistry and got some good images despite limited clear nights to work with. Students were great about getting out there in the non-class nights with their own cameras and shooting solo.
Corbin Van den Berghe's Gallery (named properly, thumbnails included, sized right)
M42- Orion Nebula in Orion, Corbin van den Berghe. 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 2 × 5 min, Nov. 21, 2016 22:19 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome. CCDOPS (v. 5.57 b .3): Dark subtract -27 C, Flat field, Color process sRGB+gamma. Registax (v. 5.1.9.2): Stack 2 frames. submitted 12/7, unformatted, properly sized |
M22- Globular cluster in Sagittarius, Corbin van den Berghe. 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 2 × 5 min, Sep. 26, 2016 20:14 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome. CCDOPS (v. 5.57 b .3): Dark subtract -14 C, Flat field, Color process sRGB+gamma. Registax (v. 5.1.9.3): Stack 2 frames. Photoshop CC: Unsharp Mask, Saturation +30, Clone Stamp tool, Curves. submitted 12/7, unformatted, properly size |
Handle of Big Dipper, Corbin van den Berghe and Patricia Davie Romero. Canon EOS REBEL T5. Exposure Time: 10 sec. ISO: 800. Sep. 26, 2016 21:02 PDT. Cabrillo Observatory. The handle of the Big Dipper can be seen right above the trees in the center. Photoshop CC: Levels. on time, sized right; file names had spaces and no photographers name on label of the image file |
Crescent Moon, Corbin van den Berghe. Nikon D7000 attached to a Williams Optics GTF81. Exposure Time: 1/500 sec. ISO: 400. Dec. 5, 2016 21:36 PDT. Cabrillo Campus. Photoshop CC: Crop. |
IC 63- Nebula in Cassiopeia, Corbin van den Berghe. 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 3 × 5 min, Nov. 21, 2016 21:13 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome. CCDOPS (v. 5.57 b .3): Dark subtract -27 C, Flat field, Color process sRGB+gamma. Registax (v. 5.1.9.3): Stack 3 frames. Photoshop CC: Saturation +50, Space Noise Reduction, Despeckle × 3, Curves, Make Stars Smaller. |
Benno Kolland's Gallery
M17-Omega Nebula
Benno Kolland
10/10/16, 10 PM ST2000XCM, Meade 12” F/6.3 at Cabrillo Observatory, clear skies 3x5 minutes, dark frame -14 C, stacked in Registax 6 photoshop-make stars smaller, space noise reduction, slight curves tweak, slight color changes, crop
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Milky Way Benno Kolland
8/29/16 9:22 pm, Cabrillo Observatory, light pollution on left hand side Canon 7D, 18-200mm @18mm, dark frame reduction in camera F/4, 20 seconds at ISO 2000
Minor contrast editing in Photoshop Lightroom |
Reflections on the Moon and Venus
Benno Kolland
12/2/16, 7:08 PM Canon 7D, 18-135 IS STM @18mm, built in dark frame reduction F/3.5, ISO 2500 for 13 seconds Natural Bridges, 48 degrees, thin clouds Photoshop: crop, pull shadows to enhance foreground, contrast edits, removal of sign in foreground with clone stamp
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Moon with Trees 11/17/16 7:20 AM, Westside Santa Cruz
Canon 7D, 55-250mm @250mm F/8, 1/400 second at ISO 250 (no tripod) Slight crop |
Star Trails with Aircraft |
Sunrise With Trees 11/23/16 7:01 AM, Westside Santa Cruz
Canon 7D, 55-250mm @250mm F5.6, 1/2000 sec at ISO 100 (Aperture priority with -1.3 stops exposure compensation, no tripod) |
Astrophotographer Shadows |
Crop in Photoshop Lightroom, no other post processing
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Fireworks in Aptos from Santa Cruz Benno Kolland
10/9/16, 8:45 PM
Canon 7D, 18-200mm@200mm on tripod
6 seconds, F/5.6 at ISO 200
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Moon GTF81 |
Jay's Gallery
Orion with Street Lights Jay Friedland
November 21, 2016 8:55pm
Everglades National Park, Big Cypress Rest Area, clear skies
iPhone SE back camera 4.15mm f/2.2, 30 second exposure
ProCam App, “slow shutter/low light”, handheld against car
Photoshop edits - Make stars smaller, Level Horizon
Space Noise reduction, Curves, Crop
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Orion Piggyback Jay Friedland
November 28, 2016 11:10pm
Cabrillo College Observatory, clear skies
iPhone SE back camera, 4.15mm f/2.2, 15 second exposure
Piggyback on WO GTF81 tracked on GM8 mount
ProCam App, “slow shutter/low light”,
Crop only
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Moon over Space Mountain Jay Friedland
September 21, 2016 8:15pm
Disneyland, Anaheim, CA, clear skies
iPhone SE back camera, 4.15mm f/2.2, 1/15 second exposure, ISO 2000
+ superimposed Moon photo with blur to match (see image 5)
Photoshop image merge, contrast adjustments
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Moon and Venus Jay Friedland
November 1, 2016 6:55pm
Santa Cruz, clear skies
iPhone SE back camera, 4.15mm f/2.2, 1/15 second exposure
ProCam App, “slow shutter/low light”, handheld,
Crop and brightness only
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M31 - Andromeda (with M32 and M110) Jay Friedland
November 1, 2016 6:55pm
ST4000XCM, Meade 8” F/6.3 at
Cabrillo Observatory, moderately cloudy skies 4x5 minutes, dark frame @ -20 C, Stacked in Registax 6, sRGB w/gamma correction Photoshop-synthetic flat frame (see additional procedure) Make stars smaller, Space noise reduction, Curves,
Color adjustment to reduce red from car lights, Crop |
Orion Trails Jay Friedland
December 6, 2016 11:28pm
Santa Cruz, moderate skies - some cirrus clouds
iPhone SE back camera, 4.15mm f/2.2,
38 minute exposure using NightCap Pro App
(auto-integrating 6840 1/3 second images)
+ 30 second auto-integrated star only image
Photoshop added two images using “lighten” mode
Curves used to enhance stars overlay
Noise reduction on star trails via NightCap Pro App
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Moon Jay Friedland
November 10, 2016 9:09pm
Santa Cruz, clear skies
iPhone SE back camera, 4.15mm f/2.2, 1/184 second exposure, ISO 25 set
Eyepiece projection through Celestron C90 w/25mm eyepiece
Carson Universal Smart Phone Optics Digiscoping Adapter, ProCam App
iPhoto Crop, Desaturate to B&W, Sharpen
Comment - “Wow, you took that with an iPhone!"
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Lorna's Gallery (no thumbnails. images were not 'save for web' so though proper dimensions, were 1+ meg in size. Student name not on image names. Labels formatted somewhat) too small; 724x523 for Eagle
Festival of Lights - Boat Parade 2016 @ Santa Cruz Harbor Dec 3rd, 2016
Shot with a Nikon D3300 Lens: DX VR 18-55mm AF-S Nikkor 1:3.5-5.6GII
Moon was @ 20% illumination - waxing 4days old.
ISO 3200 F4.5 on Tripod.
The night was semi-clear. Not too many stars because of the surrounding lights.
Processed picture in Photoshop v7. to sharpen moon and to bring out the color of the cloud underneath it.
Photographed by: Lorna Iuliano
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The Flame Nebula (NCG 2024) Class: Astrophotography 9A Fall 2016 Nov 21st 2016 @ Cabrillo Obs.
ST2000xcm 8"f/4 Meade LX075
shot @ Cabrillo Obs.
Temperature of chip -22
Moon: Waning Crescent 23 days old 40% illumination
Photographed by: Lorna Iuliano
Process:
Two ten minute exposures were taken with the ST2000 Meade mention above.
All exposures were manipulated by using dark frame correction and Flat Field Correction in the CCDOPS v5.52 program. After, the colorization was added with SRGB +gamma setting.
The two images chosen were than stacked using Registax 5.1v.
The stacked exposures are now one image and was manipulated in Photoshop v7 to reduce noise and enhance the cloud nebula. I removed the colored dots that appeared larger after increasing the level of brightness by rasterizing manually.
The photo was reduced, sized and cropped to 8x10 for e-mailing.
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The Pleiades - M45 Class: Astrophotography 9A Fall Semester 2016 Nov 28th, 2016 Fall Semester
Photograph by Lorna Iuliano
NikonD3300 + Williams Optic GTF 80mm
shot @ Cabrillo Observatory
Moon waning @ 40% Illuminating 23 days old
I did very little manipulation in Photoshop v7 to reduce noise. I used the leveling and curve tools to lighten up the blackness and slightly increased the sharpness. The picture was cropped and sized for e-mail.
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Orion's Sword - M42 (NGC 6611) Nov 21st, 2016 Fall Semester
Lorna Iuliano
NikonD7000 + Williams Optic GTF 80mm
shot @ Cabrillo Observatory
Moon waning @ 40% illumination
Four 1 sec exposures were taken with the named above telescope.
All exposures were manipulated by using dark frame correction and Flat Field Correction in the CCDOPS v5.54 program. After, the colorization was added by using sRGB +gamma. The four images chosen were than stacked using Registax 5.1v.
The stacked exposures are now one image and was manipulated in Photoshop v7 to reduce noise. I used the leveling and curve tools until I achieved the contrast and color you see now. The picture was cropped and sized for printing and e-mail.
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Eagle Nebula - M-16 Class: Astrophotography 9A Fall 2016 October 17th 2016 @ Cabrillo Obs.
ST2000xcm 8"f/4 Meade LX075
shot @ Cabrillo Obs.
Temperature of chip -20
Moon: Wanning Gibbous 17 days old 93% illumination
Photographed by: Lorna Iuliano
Process:
Four ten minute exposures were taken with the ST2000 named above.
All exposures were manipulated by using dark frame correction and Flat Field Correction in the CCDOPS program. After, the colorization was added. The four images chosen were than stacked using Registax 5.1v.
The stacked exposures are now one image and was manipulated in Photoshop to reduce noise. I played with the leveling tool until I achieved the contrast and color you see now.
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Brandon's Gallery (not 'save for web' so 2+ Meg in size, no thumbnails)
NGC6946 NGC6946, Brandon Edmister, 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 5 x 5 min, 2016 September 26 21:17 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, smoky sky, light pollution from fire, no moon, altitude +66. CCDOPS: Dark subtract -18 C, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 5 frames. Photoshop: levels, curves, make stars smaller x3, unsharpen mask, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction, saturation, healing brush, crop. |
Iris Nebula (NGC7023) Iris Nebula (NGC7023), Brandon Edmister, 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 4 x 5 min, 2016 November 21 20:20 PST, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, clear sky, no moon, altitude +58. CCDOPS: Dark subtract -27, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 4 frames. Photoshop: levels, curves, star reduction x3, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction, unsharpen mask, healing brush, saturation +15. |
Jupiter Jupiter, Brandon Edmister, CAMERA(I don’t know what camera you used to shoot this Jupiter Video), Registaxx: extracted top 45% of pictures from video, Photoshop: levels, curves, unsharpen mask, color balance, healing brush. |
SuperMoon Super Moon (1), Brandon Edmister, CAMERA(I don’t know what your camera’s name is), 2016 November 14 19:14 PST, UCSC upper meadow/ Wilder mtn bike trail crossing, clear sky, dense fog over valley. Photoshop: levels, curves, unsharpen mask, color balance, unsharpen mask, crop. |
Super Moon (2) Super Moon (2), Brandon Edmister, CAMERA(I don’t know what your camera’s name is), 2016 November 14 19:27 PST, UCSC upper meadow/ Wilder mtn bike trail crossing, clear sky, dense fog over valley. Photoshop: levels, curves, unsharpen mask, saturation, crop. |
Larissa's Gallery (unformatted labels in email. no thumbnails. not 'save for web' so 2.2Meg in size, but proper dimensions.)
Veil Nebula (NGC6992), Larissa Uren, 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 4 x 5 min, 2016 September 26 20:40 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, smoky sky, fire light pollution, no moon, altitude +76. CCDOPS: Dark subtract -16 C, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 3 frames. Photoshop: levels, make stars smaller, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction, curves, levels. |
NGC7331, Larissa Uren, 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST200XCM, 3 x 5 min, 2016 November 21 20:00 PST, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, clear sky, no moon, altitude +75. CCDOPS: Dark subtract -27 C, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 3 frames. Photoshop: levels, make stars smaller, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction, despeckle, crop. |
NGC7000, Larissa Uren, 12” Meade LDX200, SBIG ST200XCM, 7x 5 min, 2016 November 28 20:40 PST, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, clear sky, no moon, altitude +52, CCDOPS: Dark subtract -30 C, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 7 frames. Photoshop: levels, make stars smaller, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction. |
Super Moon, Larissa Uren, CAMERA(I don’t know what your camera’s name is), 2016 November 14 19:15 PST, UCSC upper meadow/ Wilder mtn bike trail crossing, clear sky, dense fog over the valley. Photoshop: crop, levels, unsharpen mask. |
Jupiter, Larissa Uren, CAMERA(I don’t know what camera you used to shoot the Jupiter video or what the conditions were like on that night) ,Registaxx: extracted top 85% of pictures from video, Photoshop: crop, levels, unsharpen mask, curves, color balance, saturation (+11), unsharpen mask, levels, color balance. |
Tricia's Gallery (sized right, named right, not 'save for web'. As of final exam class, only 3 submitted.
Orion Nebula (M42) with the Running Man Nebula, Tricia Davie, William Optics 81 mm GTF Triplet APO Refractor telescope, Losmandy GM-8 Equatorial Mount, Canon EOS Rebel T1 DSLR (30 sec exposure), 28 Nov. 2016 @ 2256 PST, Cabrillo College Observatory (Aptos, CA, USA), 47°F, minimally overcast sky and damp, New Moon, Photoshop CS6: Curves Adjustment, Levels Adjustment, Hue/Saturation/Lightness, Spot Healing Brush Tool (remove Satellite artifacts), Crop, Filter/Sharpen/Unsharpen Mask, Filter/Noise/Despeckle (x2), Filter/Flattened and resized for print and gallery |
Dumbbell Nebula (M27), Tricia Davie, Meade LX200-ACF 12” f/10 telescope with f/6.3 reducer, G11 computer controlled mount, ST2000XCM color CCD camera (6 x 5min exposure), 29 Aug. 2016 @ 2227 PST, Cabrillo College Observatory (Aptos, CA, USA), Waning Crescent Moon, Clear Sky, CCDOPS (-20, frost on the lens), RegiStax (6 images stacked [low quality 87.5%], Flat Field [fSep22-15-3], Convert to Color [Single Shot Color – color process]), Photoshop CC (Curves Adjustment, Levels Adjustment, Hue/Saturation/Lightness, Spot Healing Brush Tool (remove artifacts), Crop, Filter/Sharpen/Unsharpen Mask, Filter/Noise/Despeckle, Astronomy Actions/Space Noise Reduction/Make Stars Smaller/Local Contrast Enhance, Filter/Flattened and resized for print and gallery) |
Andromeda Galaxy (M31), Tricia Davie, William Optics 81 mm GTF Triplet APO Refractor telescope, Losmandy GM-8 Equatorial Mount, Canon EOS Rebel T1 DSLR (30 sec exposure), 28 Nov. 2016 @ 2350 PST, Cabrillo College Observatory (Aptos, CA, USA), 47°F, minimally overcast sky and damp, New Moon, Photoshop CS6: Crop, Filter/Sharpen/Unsharpen Mask, Filter/Noise/Despeckle (x2), Gaussian Blur, Filter/Flattened and resized for print and gallery
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Waxing Crescent Moon, Tricia Davie, William Optics 81 mm GTF Triplet APO Refractor telescope, tripod, Nikon D7000 DSLR (1 x 320 sec exposure, ISO 400), 05 Dec. 2016 @ 2153 PST, Cabrillo College 700 Building (Aptos, CA, USA), ~45°F, minimally overcast sky and damp, Photoshop CS6: Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Crop, Filter/Sharpen/Unsharpen Mask, Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur, Flattened and resized for print and gallery
submitted Tue |
Venus & Moon, Tricia Davie, Canon PowerShot SX280HS (1 x 10 sec exposure, f/5.0, ISO 1600, experimenting with Handheld Night Scene camera setting), 02 Dec. 2016 @ 1833 PST, Scotts Valley, CA, USA), ~43°F, clear sky at dusk, Waxing Crescent Moon, Photoshop CS6: Brightness/Contrast, Curves Adjustment, Levels Adjustment, Hue/Saturation/Lightness, Filter/Sharpen/Unsharpen Mask, Filter/Flattened and resized for print and gallery |
Tom's Gallery (sized 96pixels/inch, 300bpi on full size. Late)
Date: 09/23/16
Camera: Pentax K-30 55mm w/ Astrotracer feature
F/Ratio: 3.5
Exposure: 300" (milky way); 30" (foreground)
Subject: Milky way behind eucalyptus bluffs
Comments: I superimposed a longer space exposure over the bluffs due to the Astrotracer's effect on blurring landscapes as it traces the sky.
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Date: 09/22/16
Camera: Pentax K-30 55mm w/ Astrotracer feature
F/Ratio: 3.5
Exposure: 300"
Subject: Milky Way
Comments: An airplane can be seen flying across the sky
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Date: 10/17/16 Camera: 12" Telescope
F/Ratio:
Exposure:
Subject: M13 Hercules GC
Comments: The sky conditions were very clear this night
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Date: 11/28/16 Camera: Pentax K-30 200mm w/ Astrotracer feature
F/Ratio: 5.6
Exposure: 30"
Subject: Pleiades
Comments: I am pleased with the Astrotracer's capabilities.
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Date: 11/14/16 Camera: Pentax K-30 55mm
F/Ratio: 7.1
Exposure: 8"
Subject: Super Moon
Comments: The super moon begins to peek through the trees.
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Oliver's Gallery (submitted 4 days late, no captions, sized right) . Captions weekend after finals week.
Fisheye Moon Through Trees, (Oliver Whitcroft) Canon 60D, March 20, 2016 11:59PM (PST) Bonny Doon, California , No Post Processing.
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M56, Globular in Lyra (Oliver Whitcroft), Meade LDX200, SBIG ST2000XCM, 5 x 5 min, 2016 October 17 21:40 PDT, Cabrillo Observatory Dome, relatively clear, some fire light pollution, no moon, altitude +75. CCDOPS: Dark subtract -21 C, flat field, color process sRGB+y. Registaxx: stack 5 frames. Photoshop: levels, select color, make stars smaller, space noise reduction, deep space noise reduction, curves, levels. |
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Moon Shots... Aldebaren underwent an occultation on the nearly full 98% moon on the night of our Final Exam pot luck meeting on December 12. The D and the R were both perfectly placed within the class time, so I brought the D7000, the GTF81 refractor, and Jay and Benno brought the slo-mo adapter and Bogen tripod mount. Clouds made it tough, but we had some clear moments right before and during the actual disappearance. The R was clouded out, alas. I also have here a nice cresent moon shot that I took before arriving at class 2 weeks earlier, getting out of my car in the lot above the classroom.
The 3% razor thin moon above the ocean, from the parking lot above my office at Cabrillo College |
I'm attempting to get some shots around the time of the bright limb Reappearance, but the clouds are just too thick. |
Aldbebaren is at lower left, though very thin low cloud. ISO 400 I think. |
Same picture as left, but highly cropped and sharpened and enhanced in Photoshop. Aldebaren is a Red Giant star, well shown here against the gray moon |
